Page 56 of Break My Heart

We brake nearly side by side into Four. For a moment, the space disappears again. His tyre is inches from mine. “Leo,” Dario says sharply.

“I see it.”

I brake a breath later, rotate tighter, and force him wide without contact as we all cross the finish line.

“P3,” Dario says, a smile in his voice.

Ten laps left.

Red Bull’s Ford power unit isn’t collapsing. Instead, they’re showing tyre degradation. I can taste the opportunity now. I push harder than I should, then pull back because Christin’s voice is in my head reminding me to trust what I’m seeing on the telemetry. Infuriating, brilliant woman.

By lap fifty, I’m in DRS range. By lap fifty-two, I’m close enough to attack.

“Use overtake on exit,” Dario says. “He’s weak into One.”

“I know.”

“Don’t anticipate,” Christin’s voice reminds me over the headset.

I swallow hard. “Copy.”

The final pass is not pretty. Races rarely are when they matter.

I get a better exit from the last corner, DRS open, battery deployed, car screaming down the main straight. Red Bull defends inside. Mercedes is trying to keep a grasp on the outside. I put my trust in Christin that the car will behave if I stop overthinking it.

His front wing is beside my rear tyre. Mine is inches from the edge. One glitch, and we’re both done.

I hold. The car holds. I’m ahead by Turn Two.

“P2,” Dario says, voice tight. “Bring it home.”

P2.

Part of me wants to relish in the fact it’s better than I placed all last year, but I don’t have time.

The last legs blur into heat, light, and breath.

When I cross the line second, the celebration has already begun. The radio erupts. Dario says something about points, pace, strategy. I answer, but I don’t remember what I actually said. My hands stay tight on the wheel as the cooldown lap begins. “Christin, can you hear me?”

Dario drawls, “Oh, she’s heard everything.”

“Christin?”

She comes through my headset. “Yes?”

“What you did? It made a huge difference today.”

There’s a pause before she murmurs, “It helps when you have someone willing to trust what you’re telling them.”

I stare through the visor at the track ahead, suddenly more exhilarated than I was going wheel to wheel into Turn One. Not because I’ve come close to fixing anything between us but because she gave me something infinitely more valuable than second place.

Hope.

20

GRAINING: UNEVEN RUBBER BUILDUP REDUCING GRIP

After a race, the echoes of every failure follow me for days. Hours after the race has ended, all I can usually think about are engine issues, missed opportunities, and mistakes I want to correct.